Victims of New Delhi attack are to blame, defence lawyer for three accused says

Published: January 9, 2013

Indian women activists from the Communist Party of India — hold placards during a protest against the gang rape and murder of a student in New Delhi, in Siliguri on January 8, 2013. (Photo: Diptendu Dutta/AFP/Getty Images)

BLOOMBERG

The lawyer representing three of the men charged with the gang rape and murder of a medical student aboard a moving bus in New Delhi has blamed the victims for the assault, saying he has never heard of a ‚Äúrespected lady‚ÄĚ being raped in India.

Manohar Lal Sharma said his clients will plead not guilty to all charges today when they make their next court appearance.

His comments come after Indians reacted with outrage to the opinions of politicians and a religious preacher who have accused westernized women of inviting sexual assaults.

Sharma said the male companion of the murdered 23-year-old was ‚Äúwholly responsible‚ÄĚ for the incident as the unmarried couple should not have been on the streets at night.

‚ÄúUntil today I have not seen a single incident or example of rape with a respected lady,‚ÄĚ Sharma said in an interview at a cafe outside the Supreme Court in India‚Äôs capital.

‚ÄúEven an underworld don would not like to touch a girl with respect.‚ÄĚ

Sharma‚Äôs comments highlight frequently aired attitudes toward women in India. Activists say reporting of sex crimes and police investigations of rape are hindered by a tendency to blame the victim for not following the traditional, conservative social roles ascribed to women.

‚ÄúThis is the mentality which most Indian men are suffering from unfortunately,‚ÄĚ said Ranjana Kumari, director for the New Delhi-based Centre for Social Research.

‚ÄúThat is the mindset that has been perpetrating this crime because they justify it indirectly, you asked for it so it is your responsibility.‚ÄĚ

‚ÄėTHE MAN HAS BROKEN THE FAITH OF THE WOMAN‚Äô

A spiritual guru, Asharam, sparked an outcry earlier this week when he said the New Delhi victim was equally responsible and should have ‚Äúchanted God‚Äôs name and fallen at the feet of the attackers‚ÄĚ to stop the assault.

Mohan Bhagwat, the head of the pro-Hindu Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh that underpins the country‚Äôs main opposition political party, said rapes only occur in Indian cities, not in its villages, because women there adopt western lifestyles.

Sharma said the man and woman should not have been travelling back late in the evening and making their journey on public transport.

He also said it was the man‚Äôs responsibility to protect the woman and that he had failed in his duty.

‚ÄúThe man has broken the faith of the woman,‚ÄĚ Sharma said yesterday. ‚ÄúIf a man fails to protect the woman, or she has a single doubt about his failure to protect her, the woman will never go with that man.‚ÄĚ

Sharma, 56, a Supreme Court lawyer for the last two decades, says that his clients are innocent.

COURTROOM CHAOS

‚ÄúThis is a very complicated case and the matter has not been solved yet,‚ÄĚ he said.

Police have said they have DNA evidence linking all six to the crime.

Ram Singh, the driver of the bus and the alleged ringleader, is struggling to communicate and fluctuating between crying and laughing, Sharma said.

Sharma, who has also been appointed to represent Singh‚Äôs brother Mukesh and Akshay Kumar Singh, who is unrelated, plans to challenge police over their handling of the evidence.

Sharma‚Äôs appointment comes after chaotic scenes on Jan. 7 that forced the magistrate to order a private hearing over concerns for the safety of the accused.

Sharma was one of two lawyers denounced by other advocates for volunteering to represent the defendants. Arguments and scuffles over his offer led the magistrate to order the court room be cleared and future sessions to be held behind closed doors.

NATION OUTRAGED

The gang rape of the woman on Dec. 16 provoked a sustained and charged debate about the safety of women in the world‚Äôs biggest democracy.

The brutality of the crime and allegations by the male friend of the victim that it took police 45 minutes to respond to calls outraged the nation.

Describing the victim‚Äôs battle for life, her father said in an interview with British television channel ITV yesterday that he was initially optimistic that she would survive the attack.

He said his daughter‚Äôs ambition was to be a doctor.

‚ÄúHer main aim was that our family wouldn‚Äôt have to suffer any more,‚ÄĚ the father said, his face blurred by the channel to protect his identity.

The attack on the woman and her friend, which led to her death almost two weeks later, forced the government to address demands for swifter justice, safer streets and heavier sentences in rape cases.

India‚Äôs top court on Jan. 4 began considering demands for faster trials and the suspension of lawmakers accused of sex crimes.

MULTIPLE CHARGES

Sharma said he met the defendants for the first time on Jan. 7 for 15 minutes and was due to talk with them again yesterday. The three defendants he is representing put their thumb prints on forms appointing Sharma as their lawyer because they are illiterate, according to a copy of the documents given to Bloomberg News.

Five of the six accused will be tried for abduction, rape and murder, among other charges, government prosecutor Rajiv Mohan said Jan. 6. The other, said to be a juvenile, has been appearing before a separate judicial panel.

The male friend of the woman who was repeatedly raped and brutalized aboard the bus last month has recounted the two-hour attack which ended with the couple being thrown on to the roadside, ignored by passersby and argued over by police.

‚ÄėSEEKING REVENGE‚Äô

In a Jan. 4 interview with the Zee News television channel, the man, who along with the rape victim hasn‚Äôt been officially identified, described how they were lured on to the bus operating illegally on the night of Dec. 16 as they returned home from a movie theater in a southern neighborhood of the Indian capital.

The six men aboard the bus, ‚Äúwhich had tinted windows and curtains, had laid a trap for us,‚ÄĚ he told the channel. ‚ÄúThey beat us up, hit us with an iron rod, snatched our clothes and belongings and threw us off the bus on a deserted stretch.‚ÄĚ

The woman, who was flown to Singapore for medical treatment, died in hospital Dec. 29.

Sharma says there are number of discrepancies in the police‚Äôs version of the events, which he will reveal in court.

The only example he was willing to give is the failure of the police almost three weeks after the attack to determine whether one of the accused is a juvenile.

Sharma criticized the lawyers of a local district association who have said no advocates should represent the accused.

‚ÄúThese people are just seeking revenge,‚ÄĚ Sharma said. ‚ÄúThey are not seeking justice. A defendant has a right to a lawyer, this is a basic principle of a modern society.‚ÄĚ